Series Catalunya test report day 1

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs finds the right mix
With the 2010 season now in the rear-view mirror, the 2011 is in sight
for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series teams. Of the twenty-two drivers at
the Barcelona circuit today, just eight have previous...

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs finds the right mix

With the 2010 season now in the rear-view mirror, the 2011 is in sight
for the Formula Renault 3.5 Series teams. Of the twenty-two drivers at
the Barcelona circuit today, just eight have previous experience in the
class. After a wet start, in which P1 Motorsport's Brendon Hartley made
the most of his experience, putting on an impressive show, Comtec
Racing's Adrian Quaife-Hobbs and ISR's Alexander Rossi were the stars of
the day. The American finished a close second to the British driver. More
testing follows tomorrow.

TRain and wind were the order of the day for this first day of collective
testing, which comes just two days after the epic final which saw
Carlin's Mikhail Aleshin crowned 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series with
Tech 1 Racing's Daniel Ricciardo his runner-up. Twenty-two drivers were
on the track for a day which saw the official arrival of the BVM Target
team in the class, along with Italy's Mirko Bortolotti and Daniel
Zampieri of the Ferrari Driver Academy taking the wheel.

Also worthy of mention among the day's invitees were Eurocup Formula
Renault 2.0 drivers, Tech 1 Racing's Arthur Pic, Epsilon Euskadi's
Giovanni Venturini, International Draco Racing's Andre Negrao and
British driver, Comtec Racing's Will Stevens. Junior Lotus Racing's
Pierre Thiriet, who finished as runner-up in this years Eurocup
Megane Trophy, also lined up for his first ever taste of
single-seater racing.

The start of the morning session was a wet affair and the drivers were in
no hurry out on the track. The rain eased and conditions improved
progressively. The red flag was shown on several occasion following a
number of thrills and spills, none of which were terribly serious.
Epsilon Euskadi's Albert Costa was the first to pit for slicks just one
hour before the chequered flag. After that the timesheet was in a
constant state of flux. Costa, along with KMP Racing's Anton
Nebilitskiy, Brend Hartley and Alexander Rossi took it in turns at in
top-spot with each passing lap. On his last lap, Brendon Hartley had the
final word, setting a time of 1'36"623 to lead Alexander Rossi, Daniel
Zampieri, ISR's Julian Leal and Albert Costa.

The conditions were greatly improved for the afternoon, the track
remaining dry throughout the four-hour session. The drivers all drove
several laps, the busiest among them being Will Stevens who chalked up no
fewer than 86. Alexander Rossi, who has previous Formula Renault 3.5
Series experience from his trip to Monaco this year left the other
drivers for dust mid-session with a 1'33"660 lap, a time which
comfortably beat the pole position qualifying lap set by Daniel Ricciardo
in light aerodynamic setup last weekend. The American spent the major
part of the weekend as leader. Only in the last ten minutes did remaining
new tyres come out. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs improved on Rossi's time, with a
1'33"595 lap to finish the day of collective testing in pride of place,
ahead of Rossi, Fortec Motorsport's Robert Wickens, P1 Motorsport's
Walter Grubmuller, and Julian Leal.

Quote-Unquote:

Adrian Quaife-Hobbs: "I tried the car out once before last winter, so it
wasn't a totally new experience today. I spent two days with Comtec
Racing and I also drove at Motorland Aragon. It's clearly a very
positive sign to have finished the day as leader. We were constantly on
the pace."

Alexander Rossi: "Between Monaco, where I got my first taste of Formula
Renault 3.5 Series, and the Barcelona circuit, there's really no
comparison. I'm a little disappointed to have been pipped at the post,
but the main thing is to see that we were clearly quick. I know the ISR
inside-out, which means we work well together."

Arthur Pic: "It's a big difference to Formula Renault 2.0. There more
power, it feels very different under braking and it's much more
demanding physically. I'm going to drive again tomorrow, which is great
as it allows me to sit down this evening and reflect on what I've
learned today."

Pierre Thiriet: "It's the first time I've ever been behind the wheel
of this car. It worked out well driving in the wet this morning then in
the dry this afternoon as I was able to pace myself physically. At the
end of the day it was really starting to hurt, especially my neck. I
loved it though. The power, the grip, the cornering speed, it's just
awesome!"